Clarion Call to Canadians about our endangered Arctic takes home the Donner

We love non-fiction. And we definitely want to keep up to speed on non-fiction about our fine country. Thankfully, the Donner Prize keeps us informed about excellent and innovative Canadian public policy writing, awarding a big prize in this category every year.

Last week, at a gala awards dinner at the very glam Carlu in Toronto, Allan Gotlieb, Chairman of the Donner Canadian Foundation, announced the winner of this year's Donner Prize.

A truly integrated volume by four of Canada’s leading Northern specialists, Arctic Front is a clarion call to all Canadians about our endangered Arctic region, challenging the country to step away from the symbols and myth-making of the past and toward the urgent political, environmental and economic realities of the 21st century.

Ken S. Coates was short-listed for the Donner Prize in 2000 for The Marshall Decision and Native Rights (McGill-Queen’s University Press). He is Professor of History and Dean of Arts, University of Waterloo. P. Whitney Lackenbauer is an Assistant Professor of History at St. Jerome’s University, University of Waterloo. William R. Morrison is Professor of History, University of Northern British Columbia. Greg Poelzer is the founding Dean of Undergraduate Studies for the University of the Arctic and an Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Saskatchewan.

The other nominated titles, receiving $5,000 each are:

Chasing a Mirage: The Tragic Illusion of an Islamic State by Tarek Fatah (John Wiley & Sons, Canada)

Fixing the Future: How Canada’s Usually Fractious Governments Worked Together to Rescue the Canada Pension Plan by Bruce Little (Rotman / University of Toronto Press Publishing)

The Limits of Boundaries: Why City-regions Cannot be Self-governing by Andrew Sancton (McGill-Queen’s University Press)

In previous posts I’ve talked about the hard road to getting a book published, and even a bit about the effort that goes into just getting those first few stories done. I’ve talked about submitting writing and dealing with rejection, so I thought I’d take some time to discuss another real important thing to get used to, as you ready work for publication.